Only One Step Away
by forestwife
Summary: Missing scene from ‘Children of the Gods’. What happened on Abydos after Jack sent the tissue box through the gate to Daniel? Please R&R!


Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate.

A/N: Any speech written in Italics means that they're speaking Abydonian. Spoilers for 'Children of the Gods' and minor ones for the movie.

Only One Step Away

When the Abydos Stargate started to spin, the chevrons locking in place, the boys on guard efficiently moved to their positions. They stood silently behind the stone pillars, their guns aimed at the shimmering event horizon.

But all that came through was a small, rectangular object which bounced harmlessly down the steps and fell to the floor.

As the wormhole dissipated, Skaara moved cautiously forwards to investigate. Not recognising the box-like object, he pushed it with the end of his gun. When nothing happened, he hesitantly picked it up and turned it over in his hands. The other boys gathered around him, trying to see the object.

"_Bolah,"_ Skaara said to the boy next to him, _"Run to Nagada for Danyer."_ He was sure his brother would know what this thing was, and what to do with it.

When Bolah returned from the town with Daniel, Skaara ran to his brother, holding out the object to him, _"Danyer, this came through the Chappa'ai. It is like nothing I have ever seen before."_

Daniel took the tissue box from Skaara and almost laughed. Only Jack would've sent him something like this, as a not-so-subtle dig at his allergies. But why? Jack had said he was going to tell General West that he was dead, while Daniel had said he would bury the Abydos Stargate. So why was he now trying to contact him?

"_Danyer?"_ Skaara prompted, knowing how his brother could get lost in his thoughts if you let him.

"What? oh… it's a tissue box," Daniel said absently.

"What is a… ti-shu box?" Skaara asked slowly. He had learned English, as had many of his people, but he still preferred it when Danyer would speak Abydonian. He did most of the time, but sometimes he would automatically slip back into his native tongue.

"Well, it's a box of … tissues… _I'll explain later, but it's a message from Jack,_" Daniel explained.

Skaara visibly perked up and stood a little straighter at the sound of O'Neill's name, _"O'Neer? What does he want?"_

Daniel looked at the tissue box in his hand, and a sense of foreboding filled his mind. A sense that whatever decision he made regarding the tissue box could have serious consequences for Abydos, his adopted home.

"_I don't know,"_ he confessed to Skaara.

"_Should we not find out?"_ the younger man persisted, _"It could be important."_

"_Yes, I suppose it could,"_ Daniel replied.

Skaara had unknowingly made Daniel's mind up for him, just by pointing out the obvious. Of _course_ Jack would have only tried to contact him if it was important. Maybe they needed help or something. Not that Daniel could see any kind of help that either he or the Abydonians could give them.

Daniel pulled the wad of tissues out of the box and handed them to Skaara, and then he took a marker out of the hand-made pocket in his robes and wrote on the side of the box: 'THANKS. SEND MORE.'

"_We are going to send it back to O'Neer?"_ Skaara asked eagerly.

"_That's the plan,"_ Daniel replied, moving over to the dialling device near the gate and pushing the symbols for Earth.

The Gate kawooshed and the wormhole stabilised. Daniel moved up to stand in front of the shimmering blue. It was strange to think that he was millions of light-years away from the Earth and yet he was also only one step away…

And if he did this, and contacted Jack, it would bring Earth a little closer still. But this was it. No turning back after this.

Daniel took a deep breath and tossed the box through the gate. Then he took a step back as it deactivated.

He really hoped that he'd done the right thing.

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A/N: This was just a little thing that I wrote in one of my free periods at school, but it is also my first attempt at writing a Stargate story, so feedback would really be appreciated! Even just a few words to tell me what you thought would be great! Thanks.


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